Black Fern Huriana Manuel-Carpenter in Dove’s #ArmsUp campaign. Image supplied.
According to recent research, 90% of women said they have felt bad about their underarms at some point and as alarming as that figure is – it really is no surprise as women’s bodies are under constant scrutiny as women have long felt the pressure to adhere to specific and often, unrealistic global standards of beauty.
In line with its long-term commitment to advocating for real beauty, which started in 2004, Dove is looking to change the conversation around underarms for women in Aotearoa New Zealand – with the launch of #ArmsUp campaign.
Dove is partnering with some well-known Kiwi women to spread a message of body positivity and underarm confidence, led by Black Fern and Celebrity Treasure Island star Huriana Manuel-Carpenter. Joining Huriana is body confidence advocate and dancer/athlete Jess Quinn, sexologist Morgan Penn, content creator and comedienne Tia Reweti and designers/social activists, the NOPE Sisters.
Together, this inspiring group of women are asking other Kiwi women to join them in lifting their #ArmsUp to show off their underarms. The idea is to encourage women to strike a ‘Power Pose’ – raising the levels of cortisol in their bodies and therefore, the confidence in themselves and the look of their underarms. They want women to capture the moment and share it on social media, to spread the word and help change the conversation around underarms. Dove wants women to know that no matter what their underarms look like – hair/no hair, bumpy, lumpy, freckled, darker/lighter – it really doesn’t matter! Everyone should feel confident and proud.
Jessica Hume from Dove says, “Dove has a long legacy of championing real beauty, and that includes challenging narrow ideas of what an acceptable underarm looks like. At Dove we believe that all underarms are beautiful and we want women to feel confident about their own. We hope that through this campaign we can get a more diverse and accurate reflection of women’s underarms out into the media and onto social media. We will be sparking this important conversation by encouraging Kiwi women to raise their #ArmsUp to celebrate their unique underarms and champion their own body confidence.”
Johanna Cosgrove from the NOPE Sisters (left) and Tia Reweti (right).
Images supplied.